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This article is about Islamic Hospitals from the 700s to the 1800s.

In Persian, Islamic Hospitals are known as bimaristans. Bimaristan can also be called maristan. In Persian, “bimar” translates to “ill person” and “stan” translates to “place." Therefore, Islamic Hospitals, bimaristans, and maristans are all synonyms that can be used interchangeably. Islamic Hospitals served many purposes. Bimaristans served the purpose of being a designated place where medical treatment would be given to individuals in need. Along with being a central place for medical treatment to be given, Islamic Hospitals also served the purpose of being a designated place where recovering individuals could go to help gain back their strength. The individuals were typically recovering from accidents as well as sicknesses.

Most Islamic Hospitals did not discriminate on who could be a patient; even wealthy individuals used the bimaristans when they became ill when traveling instead of an outpatient facility or home care. Islamic Hospitals were able to care for many diverse people who all had unique accidents, illnesses, injuries, and needs due to the different sections within the bimaristans. Patients were divided into these different sections based on their needs. Patients were also divided up to minimize the risk of spreading illnesses to other patients. Not only were Islamic Hospitals used to provide care for individuals, they were also used to advance medical students’ knowledge in the medical field, especially the most well-known bimaristans located in Baghdad, Damascus, and Cairo. Islamic hospitals, books, and apprenticeships are the main three ways medical students learned different types of medical information to make tremendous advances in Islamic Medicine.

Islamic Hospitals can best be understood by being viewed as a philanthropy because they gave public assistance to individuals who needed care. Bimaristanswere able to provide these services at no costs due to ''wagfs. Wagfs'' financially supported all of the Islamic Hospitals. A wagf referred to a wealthy individual, who was typically a ruler, that donated endowments that paid for the costs of creating the bimaristans as well as maintaining them.

Islamic Hospitals were different than other hospitals because Muslims were led to form bimaristans by the Prophet Muhammad. Prophet Muhammad exclaimed that God would not create a disease without creating a cure. Muslims’ different perspective was clearly seen within their approach to the hospitals they created. This inspired the Muslims to form Islamic Hospitals, which lead to the creation of Mobile Hospitals. Mobile Hospitals were the first invention of the bimaristans.The Mobile Hospital was located in a tent to treat war victims from the Battle of the Ditch. The Mobile Hospitals consisted of medications, food and water, doctors, and pharmacists to aid the patients. These services from the Mobile Hospital transitioned into the other Islamic Hospitals that were built as well. Bimaristans were generally located in urban areas. Though the Islamic Land was very large, Baghdad, Damascus, and Cairo are the three main geographic regions where hospitals were located because they housed the most well-known Islamic Hospitals. The first six bimaristans show major changes within the Islamic Hospitals in such a short period of time. All first six Islamic Hospitals were in these three main geographic regions. The first bimaristan was built in 706 in Damascus by the Umayyad Caliph named Al-Walid. This first Islamic Hospital in Damascus focused on treating individuals with leprosy. Around the same period as Umayyad was when the second bimaristan was built in Cairo. The third and fourth Islamic Hospitals were built in Baghdad. The third bimaristan was built in 805 by Caliph Harun al-Rashid. This Islamic Hospital in Baghdad was the first documented general hospital.

Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi, Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ali ibn Isa al-Kahhal, Ibn al-Nafis, and Mir Mu’min Husayni Tunikabuni were all students that trained at Islamic Hospitals in order to advance their knowledge in the medical field. These students were key players in the advancement of bimaristansbecause of their contributions made to Islamic Medicine from their observations and writings. Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi was an Islam philosopher, physician, alchemist, and was trained well in the Greek sciences. Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi was also known for his book called Comprehensive Book of Medicine.Hunayn ibn Ishaq was viewed as a mediator between Greek sciences and Arabs due to his translations of multiple documents that were tremendously important.Hunayn ibn Ishaq was also an optometrist. Avicenna was a physician as well as a government official. The Canon of Medicine was also constructed by Avicenna, which systemized medicine logically. This systemization made records easier to find. Like Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Ali ibn Isa al-Kahhal was also an optometrist. Ali ibn Isa al-Kahhal focused on diseases of the eyes. Ibn al-Nafis was most known for his commentary on pulmonary circulation. Ibn al-Nafis was also a physician and an author. Lastly, Mir Mu’min Husayni Tunikabuni focused on how yogic breath control can control the humours. While all of these people did many different things, they all contributed to advancements in medicine.

The Islamic Hospital and the medical advancements made within the bimaristans spread to the Arabian Peninsula giving the Arabians many opportunities to translates the medical knowledge from the Islamic Hospitals. This allowed the Arab scholars to make advances, both in science and technology.